[Note: This post is all about the Engines of Play. If you are not familiar with Taste/Satisfaction Maps and their uses, the Big 5, Self-Determination Theory, etc, I highly recommend watching this video before reading the article. It will make so much more sense. Like, Oh Em Gee.] A Random Encounter With Relic I’m in San [...]

For some reason, over the past few days, I've returned to one of my oldest standby games: Gemcraft. The experience has me thinking once again about a particular dynamic that exists inside certain (rare) games, one that I find both deeply empowering as a player, and incredibly impressive as a developer. [ INFORMATIONAL ASIDE: GemCraft comes in [...]

The standard Big 5 includes a facet in the domain of Openness to Experience called "Imagination" (here's a link to IPIP inventory: Imagination). When people take the Big 5 test, the ones who score high on Imagination (here, ‘IM’) mark that they ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with statements like: Have a vivid imagination Love to daydream Spend [...]

The standard Big 5 includes a facet in the domain of Conscientiousness called “Self-Discipline”. When people take the Big 5 test, the ones who score high on Self-Discipline (‘SD’) mark that they ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with statements like: Get chores done right away. Am always prepared Carry out my plans Inversely, people who score low on [...]

The standard Big 5 includes a facet called “Self-Efficacy”. When people take the Big 5 test, the ones who score high on Self-Efficacy (’S-E’) mark that they ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with statements like: Complete tasks successfully Excel in what I do Know how to get things done Inversely, people who score low on S-E tend [...]

[ From the June/July 2013 issue of Game Developer Magazine... which was that remarkable publication's final issue. I landed the honor of writing the final Design Of The Times through nothing more than blind calendar luck, but it was an honor I was glad to have ended up with. ] Argument: As a game designer, you [...]

[ From the March 2013 issue of Game Developer Magazine. ] I’ve been looking into psychology and its applications in game design over the past few years. It has been fun, and it has improved my design skills significantly, but when I bring it up, people ask me this question so often that I decided a [...]

[ From the Dec 2012 issue of Game Developer Magazine. ] In 2001, I attended a workshop at the GDC taught by one Marc "MAHK" LeBlanc. Over the course of those two days, I would be exposed to a great deal of development wisdom (and if you haven't attended one of Marc's sessions, what the hell [...]

[ Published in the Sept 2012 issue of Game Developer Magazine. ] Most game designers think that human play-style preferences can be mapped to a spectrum with Player vs. Player (PvP) on one side, and Player vs. Environment (PvE) on the other. Players who prefer PvP are aggressive, and like competition. Players who prefer PvE are [...]

[ Published in the May 2012 issue of Game Developer Magazine ] Last year, while researching for a talk on player motivation, my PhD-in-psychology-wielding sister introduced me to the Five Factor Model (also known as the “Big 5”). The Big 5 is a system of human motivation that has come to dominate modern motivation psychology over [...]

This Is A Custom Widget

This Sliding Bar can be switched on or off in theme options, and can take any widget you throw at it or even fill it with your custom HTML Code. Its perfect for grabbing the attention of your viewers. Choose between 1, 2, 3 or 4 columns, set the background color, widget divider color, activate transparency, a top border or fully disable it on desktop and mobile.

This Is A Custom Widget

This Sliding Bar can be switched on or off in theme options, and can take any widget you throw at it or even fill it with your custom HTML Code. Its perfect for grabbing the attention of your viewers. Choose between 1, 2, 3 or 4 columns, set the background color, widget divider color, activate transparency, a top border or fully disable it on desktop and mobile.